Dreams expand.
For now, I quietly placed the magic ore on the table because it was in the way. It’s really in the way. And Ernst was staring at it intently.
“Ernst, when we get back from our honeymoon, wanna build a submarine?”
“Submarine?”
“Yeah. A ship that can move underwater without using mana. Even if there’s a storm on the surface, it won’t matter underwater.”
“… Submarine…”
Ernst’s eyes were sparkling… no, it was Aldin-sama who was literally sparkling. Blindingly so.
“Light, stop that, it’s too bright. And why do you always make Aldin-sama shine like that?”
“To make Aldin stand out more than you, Rosarin! Aldin’s going to be king, but he doesn’t stand out as much as you.”
The room didn’t go silent. The knights from the former assassin group were twitching. Laugh if you want! Don’t pretend to be polite. It pisses me off.
“Oh noble one… Rin… Rosarin? I do think he shines brighter, but presence isn’t about that, is it? Besides, just having someone like you think that way is enough, in my opinion.”
Somewhat absentminded, but Watase Obaasama just laid down the truth.
“I see. So just being sparkly isn’t the point… Alright! I’ll do my best for Aldin!”
“Thank you, Light. But I don’t really think I need to stand out. I used to not want to lose to my brother or to Rosarin, but not anymore. It’s not about winning or losing. I was just being insecure. Sure, I’m not as talented as my brother, or impossibly strong like Rosarin, or capable of outrageous ideas.”
Aldin-sama, I am not impossibly strong nor do I come up with outrageous ideas. But the atmosphere won’t let me make that comment. It’s painful.
“Frankly, I’m not that gifted. But still, there are people who support me, who say they believe in me. Sometimes I hate how naive I am. There was a day I bawled when I found out my brother had been taking the fall for me without me knowing. I don’t want to compare myself to others—I want to grow as myself. So I don’t need to shine… huh?”
Even when Light’s doing nothing, Aldin-sama is pointlessly dazzling. He has his own charm. He reforms villains without realizing it. He’s actually more competent than anyone. The governmental work he’s involved in has gotten remarkably clean. Apparently, when Alphage-sama had him sent as a test to a department suspected of corruption, those involved broke down in tears and confessed of their own accord.
A shockingly pure white figure. Honestly, just seeing that purity makes you want to apologize even if you haven’t done anything wrong…
“Light’s not doing anything, so why is everyone averting their eyes? And Light, if you shine too much, we’ll get complaints. I’m not telling you to stop, but tone it down a little.”
By the way, I asked what kind of complaints he’d gotten. A painter said he was too radiant to draw his face, and during an audience, a messenger looked like they were going blind. It’s a quiet nuisance.
“Well, setting aside whether I have presence or not… I do acknowledge you, Aldin-sama, as ‘the king we should kneel to.’ If you make a mistake, I will correct you, support you, and I want to see the country you build.”
“Rosarin…”
“Rosarin beat me to it, but I also believe you are worthy of being king. Aldin, I take on the mud because I want to. If it’s for my king, that’s nothing—”
“Absolutely not. No. I won’t allow it! Stop making my brother the villain!”
Uh-oh. Alphage-sama’s doting big-brother switch is about to flip. I mean, Aldin-sama is cute, but still.
“That’s right. Don’t worry. As his friend, I’ll keep Alphage-sama’s rampages under control. We need both Aldin-sama and Alphage-sama at the top.”
“… Why’s that?”
“Because there might be some idiot who tries to use our ultimate weapon young lady, right? Worst case, Christia could vanish from the map.”
Everyone went silent and looked at me.
“‘True.’”
Then, the Radiant White Lord and the Pitch-Black Lord nodded in agreement.
“Objection! What is this!? Writing ‘Ultimate Weapon Young Lady’ and reading it as ‘Rosarin’!?”
My brother smiled very wickedly.
“Well, you’re Rosarin, the one who could probably conquer the world with just Valkyrie, Dirk, and Geraldin-san.”
“… Ah.”
“True.”
Don’t agree with that! You black-and-white princes! Who even started this nonsense!? Pochi and Rinka are with me too, and it’s not that simple!
“You are harmless if not provoked, but if some clueless idiot tried to take kids from the orphanage hostage, you wouldn’t show mercy, right?”
“That would be the idiot’s fault.”
“What if the one who did it was a head of state?”
“I’d deal massive damage and escape.”
“Rosarin, don’t you want to be king?”
“Not at all. I think building a good country under Aldin-sama sounds fun, so I’m fine with that, but I have zero interest in being a head of state. I prefer being the supporting role over the leader.”
Aldin-sama tilted his head. Well, he was raised to be king, so maybe he wouldn’t get it. But Alphage-sama was nodding vigorously.
“Well, to make rootless people like us swear true loyalty from the heart—you are that kind of master. Have confidence.”
“Yeah. Aldin, you are a master we’re proud of.”
Aldin-sama gave a gentle smile at the words of the twin knights (former assassins). It was a memorable moment. They really have a good relationship. You can tell from the twins’ expressions. Assigning them to Aldin-sama was definitely the right choice.
“So, My Lord. When are we starting world domination?”
The fact that I delivered a vacuum flying knee to the muscle-brained hero who clearly hadn’t been listening—I think that’s justifiable. It’s Geraldin-san’s fault.
What do you think about this chapter?
